Monthly Archives: March 2019

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had an amazing week. In honor of lent I wanted to share with you this seafood medley dish, Even if you don’t partake in lent this is a wonderful meatless dish. It’s full of deliciousness. It can be customized to your personal preferences. If you don’t like one of the seafood in the list of ingredients below feel free to exchange out with something else, omit it all together or just double up on the ones you like.

Don’t let the words “Cream Sauce” deter you. This isn’t an ultra rich sauce. It’s actually very light. There isn’t too much cream in this dish. If you are following keto, low carb or just trying to be healthier see the Chef Notes for more information.

This dish seems a little time-consuming but part of it can be done head of time. You can cook the shrimp and scallops ahead of time and just have ready to go.

I grew up eating mussels with my Dad. He loved mussels. Every time he went back east to visit my family he’d get a pizza and an order of mussels from the pizzeria down the block. Before he passed away he actually taught me how to clean and cook mussels. I still remember him and I standing over the sink full of water and checking each and every mussel to make sure it wasn’t cracked or damaged in any way and make sure they were tightly closed. If the mussels were opened most likely they are dead. You can tap the mussel against the sink and see if the mussels closes. If it doesn’t the mussel is dead and needs to be discarded. I love that memory of my Dad and I. I think about it often. He was an amazing cook and I carry so many amazing things he taught me with me when I cook.

Ok, now on to the recipe. It’s a great recipe and perfect for a dinner party. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Directions: Rinse scallops and shrimp under cool water. Pat completely try with paper towels. Season scallops and shrimp with salt and pepper. Heat a medium sauté pan over high heat. Add in 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and let heat 2 minutes. Add in scallops to the pan and cook on high heat for 3 minutes and turn over once the scallops have a golden crust. Flip over and cook another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add in another 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and shrimp to the sauté pan. Cook the shrimp stirring occasionally. Cook till the shrimp is pink and opaque. About 5-6 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Next add remainder of oil and heat in pan. Next add in the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add in 3 tablespoons of butter. (Note: If you are using xanthan gum skip to the next step now. ) If using flour in with the butter a roux. Cook for 5 minutes stirring once.

Next add the chicken broth to the pan and mix. If using xanthan gum add in now and mix until dissolves. Add in lemon juice and wine (if using.) Let mixture cook on high about 6-7 minutes as it thickens. Add in heavy cream and mix and season with garlic and onion powder and parsley.

Reduce the heat to medium high and add in the scallops, shrimp and lump crab. Mix well. Add in the mussels and cover and cook on medium heat 8-10 until the mussels are cooked and opened. (Note: Mussels are hard to give a cooking time for. Just make sure to keep and eye on the pan and once you see the mussels open they are cooked.) Once they are cooked mix everything up one last time and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Remove from heat and transfer to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Chef Notes: This can be served with any sides you choose. Pasta, potatoes or rice. Anything you like. Make sure to serve with a nice chunk of crusty bread for dipping. If you are keeping it low carb/keto use xanthan gum vs flour, omit the wine and serve along side cauliflower rice or veggies and no bread (Sorry). Feel free to use half and half vs heavy whipping cream if you want it to be on the healthier side.

It’s no surprise that I love tacos. But I have a confession. I’ve been cheating on tacos with tostadas! The last year my love for tostadas has grown so much. I can’t tell you how much I love those crispy flat tortillas!! There have been times I felt like I was posting at least one tostada picture a week on my social media.

I thought I’d share some of my favorites on my blog. It’s super simple to put together a delicious tostadas dinner. I figured I’d share some tips!

First you need to start out with a crispy tostada shell. I’ve only ever seen corn tostadas but if you see flour tostadas give them a go! You next need to add a delicious protein. This can be steak, chicken, shrimp or to keep it vegetarian you can add beans or even eggs. Next is your choice of delicious toppings. You can add onions, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeños, avocado, sour cream, cheese, cheese sauce, guacamole or salsa. Breakfast tostadas are also a great idea. Just add some eggs and chorizo, sausage or bacon and your toppings and you have successfully made a breakfast tostada! Or be like me and just eat a regular tostada for breakfast. No eggs required!! Ha, Ha!

I try and keep tostadas on hand because they have a long shelf life and it’s a great way to throw together a quick dinner. Here are 4 of my tostadas below with the ingridents. My favorites are #3 and #4 just because I love steak!! Check them out! Leave your favorite in the comments! Each of these recipes will make 2 tostadas and you can obviously use more or less of the toppings to your likings. Enjoy!

I love mushrooms! They are so veresitle. You can stuff them, turn them into burgers, sauté them, fry them and pretty much anything else you can think of.

Funny story, I didn’t always like mushrooms. I would steer clear of them as much as possible. Then probably like 12 years ago I was having dinner at my then boyfriends house with his parents. His Mom asked if I liked mushrooms and my boyfriend chimed in and said “No, she hates them!” Knowing good and well that his mother just made mushrooms as part of dinner. I think my mouth fell to the floor. I couldn’t believe he called me out like that. I ended you putting some mushrooms on my plate because that’s just good manners. Much to my surprise I didn’t hate them.

After years of eating mushrooms now, I’ve been able to develop some amazing recipes. That’s where this recipe comes in. I almost wasn’t going to post because it is so simple. But I decided too because if you like mushrooms you’ll love this recipe. It’s very simple. Maybe a little more time consuming because it does take time to get to the golden mushroom we are looking for with this recipe since there is so much water in mushrooms. The mushrooms need to be cooked until the liquid is completely gone which may take some time. Trust me it’s worth it! Check it out and I hope you enjoy it!

Next add in the mushrooms and cook several minutes. In order to get a golden mushroom you need to cook the mushrooms to the point where the liquid is completely gone. This will take a while. Probably about 15-20 minutes. You will need to stir every couple minutes.

Once the liquid finally starts to evaporate you will need to cook another 7 minutes or so to get the golden brown color on the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms start to get golden add the butter and mix a few times as the butter melts. Season the mushrooms with garlic and onion powder and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Cook Notes: You can definitely use white button mushrooms as well in this dish. Feel free to try some different spices in this recipe.

Happy Sunday Funday! I am super excited to share some new awesome recipes with you all. Stay tuned for more!!!

I’ve been trying to eat food lower in carbs. So, I made this crustless quiche. I’m not a huge fan of eggs. I can only eat them every so often. The problem is eggs are a great food while doing the Keto/low carb diet. I need to change the texture and try and mask the flavor as much as possible to really enjoy an egg dish. Quiches and egg stratas are a great way to accomplish that.

That is where this recipe comes in. The star of this dish is definitely the sausage and cheddar cheese. I mean c’mon who doesn’t like sausage and cheese?

This quiche is definitely low in carbs because there is no crust. If you aren’t watching your carb intake or want to use a crust, feel free to do so. I’m sure it would just make this dish even better. If you want to spare some carbs, don’t worry this quiche is delicious without any crust at all.

This quiche is wonderful left over. Dare I even say better the next day! The flavors seem to intensify really well by the next day and makes this a great left over dish. It’s perfect to prep for breakfasts through the week. If you want to double this recipe, just make it in a larger baking dish and cut into squares to serve vs pie slices.

Directions:
In a medium sauté pan over medium heat cook the sausage and break up into small pieces. Cook until cooked through. Remove from heat and drain on paper towel to remove excess grease. Add diced onion to the sauté pan and cook on high heat mixing every so often until onion has softened.

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8 inch pie pan with cooking spray. Spread the onion and sausage evenly on the bottom of the pie pan. In a medium bowl whisk together eggs and add the heavy whipping cream, whisk until fully incorporated. Fold in the cheddar cheese.

Pour egg mixture into the pie pan. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Insert a knife into the center of the quiche to make sure it comes out clean. The quiche shouldn’t be jiggly in the middle. If it is put back in for another 5-7 minutes. Let the quiche set 10-15 minutes before cutting to serve.

Chef Notes: To make sure the quiche doesn’t go over and make a mess bake it on a cookie sheet to catch any leaks of the egg mixture. Your oven will thank you.